Congress Gives Final Approval to Make Lynching a Hate Crime

WASHINGTON — The Senate unanimously approved a bill that would make lynching a federal hate crime, explicitly criminalizing a heinous act that has become a symbol of the nation’s history of racial violence.

It was a remarkable moment after more than a century of failed attempts. The historic bill carries the name of Emmett Till, the 14-year-old Black boy tortured and murdered in Mississippi in 1955. Under the measure, the crime is punishable by up to 30 years in prison.

“Hallelujah — it is long overdue,” said Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the majority leader, who oversaw the legislation’s passage in a sparsely filled chamber Monday evening. He added, “That it took so long is a stain, a bitter stain on America.”

Without any senators showing up to object, the bill cleared the Senate without a formal vote. The measure now heads to President Biden’s desk for his signature, having passed the House in late February with only three lawmakers opposed.

[…]

“This is the year, now is the time, that we do the right thing,” said Senator Tim Scott, Republican of South Carolina and a longtime champion of the legislation, in an impassioned speech on the Senate floor on Thursday. “Not for Republicans or Democrats, but for Americans who’ve watched, with bewildered eyes and confused hearts, their government fall short on issues of importance to them again and again and again. Let this year be the year we put politics to the side and we get it done.”

[…]

Read the full article here.